Posts tagged “X E1”

Thought for the day….”Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”

A photo that is history now….a Singapore Airlines 747-400 taking off from Zurich airport in Switzerland. Known as the Queen of the Skies, almost 400 tons lifting off for the 11 hour flight to Singapore. Zurich (code ZRH) is a great place to take aircraft photos, as the authorities there actually encourage people to take photos, and even organize special photo tours. Great that the managers there have seen the value of photographers, and make it easy to take photos, rather than trying to prevent it like so many airports do today. Not only that, but Zurich is actually a good airport to fly into or transit, run with the usual Swiss efficiency. The photo below was taken during one of the organized photo tours, although even from the normal viewing decks, it is easy to get some great photos.

About 85 000 people live in the island nation of the Seychelles, which is situated about 1500km off the eastern African coast and north of Madagascar. Around 115 islands make up the country, which have been controlled at times by both France and Britain. The islands have also been used by pirates, and it is said that the treasure of Le Vasseur, a notorious pirate, is buried there somewhere. Victoria, the capital, on the main island of Mahe, claims to be the smallest capital in the world, although it is the outer islands where the real beauty is. Island hopping is easy there, either on the local fast ferries or the domestic flights in Twin Otter aircraft. Due to the restrictions on the number of tourists, it is not (yet) overrun or overcrowed, just peaceful and beautiful. A couple of photos are worth a thousand words……..Both photos taken with the Fuji X-E1 camera.

“If you are not meant to have midnight snacks then why is there a light in the fridge?”

A couple of photos from the recent Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow, held at Easter this year in Pembroke Wanaka, New Zealand. The first photo is the Supermarine Spitfire. Designed by R.J. Mitchell, it came into service in 1938, and was in production throughout the second world war. About 53 Spitfires are still in flying condition. Over 20 300 Spifires were made, and they remained in service until 1961. This particular aircraft carries a registration to commemorate the New Zealand pilot Alan Deere.

The second photo is the Messerschmidt Bf 109, which was used by the Luftwaffe in Germany during the second world war. It entered service in 1937, with around 33 000 being made. At least 10% were lost in take-off or landing accidents.

Both aircraft performed displays during the 2 days of the airshow.

and another photo from the archives….an early test photo from the X-E1 camera………

“The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes” (Winston Churchill).

Time for an upgrade of my camera. The Fuji X-E1 had been producing some fantastic pictures, so I was in no hurry to upgrade, especially as the gains and improvements with a new camera would be small. But upgrade I did and now have the Fuji XT-10. Apart from having a tilting screen (something that I thought was a gimmick before I actually got to find out that sometimes it is very useful), it has a few other new features that I am also finding useful too. Features that I had not had previously such as wifi, remote control and geo-tagging are now available, as well as faster focussing and a viewfinder that is perhaps the clearest that I have ever used. So although I was sad to part with the X-E1, the new camera is already proving to be just as much fun as the older one. It is said that Fujifilm cameras are made by photographers who are also engineers, whereas another famous brand (=brand X) is made by engineers, full stop. Guess which cameras are more fun to use? Having real dials and also menus that you can customize, and a fantastic viewfinder makes all the difference. Photography is fun again !!!

Even if I enjoy taking photos, I will probably (hopefully) not go to this extreme…..an aircraft spotter or very keen photographer seen at an airshow recently…..He was carrying not one but two BIG cameras. The lens on the second camera must have weighed several kilos….

Thought for the day…”Don’t live the same year 90 times and call it a life”

“When life gives you a rainy day, play in the puddles”.

Computers have been around for a long time now, since the last century indeed. Some of us grew up with them, starting with the famous Sinclair ZX Spectrum and the says of loading programs with tapes. But despite computers having been around for decades, they still do not work as they should. Why is it that there are still so many problems with things that by now should be simple, like logging into wifi?? Why do computers seem to have endless problems and need endless updates? And where are the ‘experts’?? Surely by now they could have sorted out all the teething problems and have produced computers that do work without needing constant attention. I would love to sit next to Bill Gates on a long flight and pass him my laptop and ask him to make it work properly. It seems that the so-called ‘experts’ are not so expert. How often have you heard the advice to restart the computer (ie. pull the plug out)?? And why have these ‘experts’ not managed to sort out the problems after all these years. I just want a computer that works as it should and does not need constant attention. Is that too much to ask???

Off to Norway for the photo today…and to the harbour port of Kristiansund, seen here on a beautiful summer’s day.

and another photo from the archives…..fishermen returning home in Croatia….

No doubt that there were some red faces at the Nabors Demolition company in Texas, USA. They recently demolished the WRONG house, and have blamed Google maps for the error. The house that they demolished was one block from the house that they should have knocked down. Needless to say, the owners of the now-demolished house were none too happy, although the Nabors Demolition company described it as ‘no big deal’. The demolition company’s motto is ” We Could Wreck The World” certainly had a good try. Apparently, Google maps has now amended the map to show the correct location of the house that should have been knocked down. Some red faces somwhere??

People photos are always fascinating, so here is another one…fisherman in the park…Fuji X-E1 camera together with the Fuji 55-230mm lens.

Thought for the day…”It always seems impossible until it is done” (Nelson Mandela).

” Life is like photography. You use negatives to develop”

One definition of a ‘folly’ is a building that is built mainly for decoration, but in a style to imitate something else (such as a castle or tower), and at such expense to have shown folly for the builder. So when I read news about the new airport that has been built on St. Helena island in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, then the word ‘folly’ springs to mind. The news often features stories about the much-delayed new Berlin airport, which seems to be continually delayed and plagued by one problem after another, but the new St Helena airport is equally worthy.

This new airport (soon to receive its first commercial flight) has been built at a staggering cost, reportedly 218 MILLION British Pounds. The fancy airport comes complete with control tower, restaurant, departure lounges and full security facilities, and a fire station complete with 3 expensive fire-engines. Not bad at all, except for the fact that St Helena only has a population of about 4255 people. Not only that, but the island only has 2 small hotels, which will be completely unable to cope with the numbers of tourists expected on the weekly flight to the island. So the British government has spent 218 million British Pounds on an airport which will have almost no flights, an airport which will serve a population of about 4255 people and an airport which will overload the 2 hotels on the island. So it is not only Berlin that gets it wrong with its airport. Folly? I think so.

Another great photo from the Fuji X-E1 camera…taken with the 55-230mm lens at the maximum 230mm….

and another photo from the archives….autmn colours at Glendhu Bay, Lake Wanaka, New Zealand

Thought for the day…”Always remember to take your vitamins. Take Vitamin A for ACTION, take vitamin B for BELIEF, take vitamin C for CONFIDENCE, take vitamin D for DISCIPLINE, and take vitamin E for ENTHUSIASM”

Just had another birthday, and once again, I thought how glad that I am NOT 16 years old again. Recently I went to a Countdown supermarket and was forced to use the self-service checkouts (normally I avoid them) as there were no staff working the ‘manned’ check-outs. Whilst self-service check-outs might be profitable for the supermarket shareholders, the problem is that they are doing many people out of jobs. The same thing has happened at airports (= less check-in staff working on the desks) and hotels which increasingly have automatic check in (= less receptionists). Cruise ships are introducing robotic barmen capable of mixing and serving drinks (= less bar staff), petrol stations are increasingly becoming automatic (=less cashiers). The list goes on, meaning less and less jobs. All very good for shareholders, but not so good for the school leavers who are looking for jobs. Often in supermarkets they try and steer me towards the self-service checkouts, but I try and choose a manned check-out. One day, the trend might go the other way, when somebody realizes that the PERSONAL touch means so much. Keep people employed !!

Thought for the day…”If you want something that you never had, then do something that you have never done”.

” If aircraft black boxes survive air crashes, why do they not make the whole aircraft out of the same material? “.

Those of you who are over about 30 years of age may remember a British singer called Ken DODD. One of his hits (he was actually a comedian and initially not a singer) was called ‘Happiness’. The first words in the song go “Happiness, happiness, the greatest gift that I possess’. The results of the annual ‘World Happiness Report’ have just been published (by the United Nations), and once again DENMARK comes out as the World’s happiest country. Switzerland was also near the top, whereas Burundi was at the bottom of the list (presumably this makes it the World’s most UNhappy country). Burundi has been plagued by civil wars, poverty, disease and corruption, which might be why it is in bottom place on the list. The survey looks at things like education, social security, life expectancy, GDP, corruption, personal wellbeing etc. One bit of good news is that happiness has increased in nearly all regions of the World, with Denmark and Switzerland still in the number 1 and number 2 positions. Interestingly, Denmark has one of the highest tax rates in the World, yet the people there are the happiest.

The country Bhutan does not produce figures for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but it does publish the Gross National Happiness Index instead, which includes measures of physical happiness, mental health and social/cultural vitality. 20th March was the International Happiness Day. Smile please !!

Today’s photo is of some happy people after Skydiving in New Zealand……..

Thought for the day…”You will never know your limits until you push yourself to them”.

“The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time”.

Driving down to the south part of the South Island of New Zealand, you might come across some traces of the past. Down at a small settlement called Mandeville, there is a small airfield, home of the Croydon Aviation Trust. Here they restore old aircraft, and also train pilots to fly them. The old hangars are still there, and inside them you will see aircraft being restored using traditional methods, such as carpentry and dope on fabric. Mandeville was originally a wet area (=alcohol allowed), whereas nearby Gore Town was a dry area (=no alcohol allowed), which might be the reason that the airstrip prospered. Enough aircraft and flying machines in the hangars to make a stop worthwhile if you are in the area. Another nice feature is that you can actually go for pleasure flights in the aircraft, including the open cockpit Tiger Moth or the DH89 Rapide. A trip down back to the past !!